Cross-reality select, drag, and drop for augmented reality systems

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatuses, computer program products, devices and systems are described that carry out detecting a first action of a user at a location in a real world field of view of an augmented reality device; displaying an augmented reality representation in response to at least one of a user input or detecting a first action of a user at a location in a real world field of view of an augmented reality device; moving the displayed augmented reality representation on a display of the augmented reality device according to at least one detected second action of the user; and registering the displayed augmented reality representation at a location in the display of the augmented reality device in response to at least one of a user input or moving a displayed augmented reality representation on a display of the augmented reality device according to at least one detected second action of the user.

If an Application Data Sheet (ADS) has been filed on the filing date ofthis application, it is incorporated by reference herein. Anyapplications claimed on the ADS for priority under 35 U.S.C. §§ 119,120, 121, or 365(c), and any and all parent, grandparent,great-grandparent, etc. applications of such applications, are alsoincorporated by reference, including any priority claims made in thoseapplications and any material incorporated by reference, to the extentsuch subject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and/or claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Priority Applications”), if any, listed below(e.g., claims earliest available priority dates for other thanprovisional patent applications or claims benefits under 35 USC § 119(e)for provisional patent applications, for any and all parent,grandparent, greatgrandparent, etc. applications of the PriorityApplication(s)). In addition, the present application is related to the“Related Applications,” if any, listed below.

PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

None

RELATED APPLICATIONS

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/646,147, entitled FORMATTING OF ONEOR MORE PERSISTENT AUGMENTATIONS IN AN AUGMENTED VIEW IN RESPONSE TOMULTIPLE INPUT FACTORS, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., andClarence T. Tegreene as inventors, filed 5 Oct. 2012, is related to thepresent application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/648,012, entitled FORMATTING OF ONEOR MORE PERSISTENT AUGMENTATIONS IN AN AUGMENTED VIEW IN RESPONSE TOMULTIPLE INPUT FACTORS, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., andClarence T. Tegreene as inventors, filed 9 Oct. 2012, is related to thepresent application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/672,575, entitled PRESENTING ANAUGMENTED VIEW IN RESPONSE TO ACQUISITION OF DATA INFERRING USERACTIVITY, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W.Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene asinventors, filed 9 Nov. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/673,070, entitled PRESENTING ANAUGMENTED VIEW IN RESPONSE TO ACQUISITION OF DATA INFERRING USERACTIVITY, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W.Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene asinventors, filed 9 Nov. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/689,372, entitled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR SHARING AUGMENTATION DATA, naming Gene Fein, Royce A.Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D.Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene as inventors, filed 29 Nov. 2012,is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/690,003, entitled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR SHARING AUGMENTATION DATA, naming Gene Fein, Royce A.Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D.Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene as inventors, filed 30 Nov. 2012,is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/709,465, entitled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR OBTAINING AND USING AUGMENTATION DATA AND FOR SHARING USAGEDATA, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W.Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene asinventors, filed 10 Dec. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/711,095, entitled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR OBTAINING AND USING AUGMENTATION DATA AND FOR SHARING USAGEDATA, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W.Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene asinventors, filed 11 Dec. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/721,340, entitled CORRELATING USERREACTION WITH AT LEAST AN ASPECT ASSOCIATED WITH AN AUGMENTATION OF ANAUGMENTED VIEW, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord,Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T.Tegreene as inventors, filed 20 Dec. 2012, is related to the presentapplication.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/723,610, entitled CORRELATING USERREACTION WITH AT LEAST AN ASPECT ASSOCIATED WITH AN AUGMENTATION OF ANAUGMENTED VIEW, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord,Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T.Tegreene as inventors, filed 21 Dec. 2012, is related to the presentapplication.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/729,278, entitled CORRELATING USERREACTIONS WITH AUGMENTATIONS DISPLAYED THROUGH AUGMENTED VIEWS, namingGene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A.Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene as inventors,filed 28 Dec. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/731,233, entitled CORRELATING USERREACTIONS WITH AUGMENTATIONS DISPLAYED THROUGH AUGMENTED VIEWS, namingGene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Mark A.Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T. Tegreene as inventors,filed 31 Dec. 2012, is related to the present application.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/768,048, entitled DISPLAYING INRESPONSE TO DETECTING ONE OR MORE USER BEHAVIORS ONE OR MORE SECONDAUGMENTATIONS THAT ARE BASED ON ONE OR MORE REGISTERED FIRSTAUGMENTATIONS, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord,Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T.Tegreene as inventors, filed 15 Feb. 2013, is related to the presentapplication.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/770,053, entitled DISPLAYING INRESPONSE TO DETECTING ONE OR MORE USER BEHAVIORS ONE OR MORE SECONDAUGMENTATIONS THAT ARE BASED ON ONE OR MORE REGISTERED FIRSTAUGMENTATIONS, naming Gene Fein, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord,Robert W. Lord, Mark A. Malamud, John D. Rinaldo, Jr., and Clarence T.Tegreene as inventors, filed 19 Feb. 2013, is related to the presentapplication.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to theeffect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicantsreference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is acontinuation, continuation-in-part, or divisional of a parentapplication. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit of Prior-Filed Application, USPTOOfficial 5 Gazette Mar. 18, 2003. The USPTO further has provided formsfor the Application Data Sheet which allow automatic loading ofbibliographic data but which require identification of each applicationas a continuation, continuation-in-part, or divisional of a parentapplication. The present Applicant Entity (hereinafter “Applicant”) hasprovided above a specific reference to the application(s) from whichpriority is being claimed as recited by statute.

Applicant understands that the statute is unambiguous in its specificreference language and does not require either a serial number or anycharacterization, such as “continuation” or “continuation-in-part,” forclaiming priority to U.S. patent applications. Notwithstanding theforegoing, Applicant understands that the USPTO's computer programs havecertain data entry requirements, and hence Applicant has provideddesignation(s) of a relationship between the present application and itsparent application(s) as set forth above and in any ADS filed in thisapplication, but expressly points out that such designation(s) are notto be construed in any way as any type of commentary and/or admission asto whether or not the present application contains any new matter inaddition to the matter of its parent application(s).

If the listings of applications provided above are inconsistent with thelistings provided via an ADS, it is the intent of the Applicant to claimpriority to each application that appears in the Priority Applicationssection of the ADS and to each application that appears in the PriorityApplications section of this application.

All subject matter of the Priority Applications and the RelatedApplications and of any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Priority Applications and the RelatedApplications, including any priority claims, is incorporated herein byreference to the extent such subject matter is not inconsistentherewith.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description relates to data capture, data handling, and datadisplay techniques.

SUMMARY

An embodiment provides a system. In one implementation, the systemincludes but is not limited to circuitry for detecting a first action ofa user at a location in a real world field of view of an augmentedreality device; circuitry for displaying an augmented realityrepresentation in response to at least one of a user input or an outputof the circuitry for detecting a first action of a user at a location ina real world field of view of an augmented reality device; circuitry formoving the displayed augmented reality representation on a display ofthe augmented reality device according to at least one detected secondaction of the user; and circuitry for registering the displayedaugmented reality representation at a location in the display of theaugmented reality device in response to at least one of a user input oran output of the circuitry for moving a displayed augmented realityrepresentation on a display of the augmented reality device according toat least one detected second action of the user. In addition to theforegoing, other system aspects are described in the claims, drawings,and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the circuitry and/or programming canbe virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer.

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to computing means and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the computing means and/or programmingmay be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer.

An embodiment provides a computer-implemented method. In oneimplementation, the method includes but is not limited to detecting afirst action of a user at a location in a real world field of view of anaugmented reality device; displaying an augmented reality representationin response to at least one of a user input or detecting a first actionof a user at a location in a real world field of view of an augmentedreality device; moving the displayed augmented reality representation ona display of the augmented reality device according to at least onedetected second action of the user; and registering the displayedaugmented reality representation at a location in the display of theaugmented reality device in response to at least one of a user input ormoving a displayed augmented reality representation on a display of theaugmented reality device according to at least one detected secondaction of the user. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspectsare described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of thepresent disclosure.

An embodiment provides an article of manufacture including a computerprogram product. In one implementation, the article of manufactureincludes but is not limited to a signal-bearing medium configured by oneor more instructions related to detecting a first action of a user at alocation in a real world field of view of an augmented reality device;displaying an augmented reality representation in response to at leastone of a user input or detecting a first action of a user at a locationin a real world field of view of an augmented reality device; moving thedisplayed augmented reality representation on a display of the augmentedreality device according to at least one detected second action of theuser; and registering the displayed augmented reality representation ata location in the display of the augmented reality device in response toat least one of a user input or moving a displayed augmented realityrepresentation on a display of the augmented reality device according toat least one detected second action of the user. In addition to theforegoing, other computer program product aspects are described in theclaims, drawings, and text forming a part of the present disclosure.

An embodiment provides a system. In one implementation, the systemincludes but is not limited to a computing device and instructions. Theinstructions when executed on the computing device cause the computingdevice to detect a first action of a user at a location in a real worldfield of view of an augmented reality device; display an augmentedreality representation in response to at least one of a user input ordetecting a first action of a user at a location in a real world fieldof view of an augmented reality device; move the displayed augmentedreality representation on a display of the augmented reality deviceaccording to at least one detected second action of the user; andregister the displayed augmented reality representation at a location inthe display of the augmented reality device in response to at least oneof a user input or moving a displayed augmented reality representationon a display of the augmented reality device according to at least onedetected second action of the user. In addition to the foregoing, othersystem aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming apart of the present disclosure.

In addition to the foregoing, various other method and/or system and/orprogram product aspects are set forth and described in the teachingssuch as text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawingsof the present disclosure.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/orother subject matter described herein will become apparent in theteachings set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

With reference now to FIG. 1, shown is a number of examples of augmentedreality devices.

FIG. 2 illustrates an augmented reality device and a real world field ofview of its camera.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment wherein a user interacts with a systemto select, drag, and drop an augmented reality representation of a book.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system for selecting, dragging, anddropping in augmented reality systems in which embodiments may beimplemented, perhaps in a device and/or through a network, which mayserve as a context for introducing one or more processes and/or devicesdescribed herein.

With reference now to FIG. 5, shown is an example of an operational flowrepresenting example operations related to selecting, dragging, anddropping in augmented reality systems, which may serve as a context forintroducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 5.

With reference now to FIG. 13, shown is an example of an operationalflow representing example operations related to selecting, dragging, anddropping in augmented reality systems, which may serve as a context forintroducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 14, shown is an example of an operationalflow representing example operations related to selecting, dragging, anddropping in augmented reality systems, which may serve as a context forintroducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.

The use of the same symbols in different drawings typically indicatessimilar or identical items unless context dictates otherwise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In a world where people interact through augmented reality devices, suchdedicated augmented reality devices (e.g., Google Glass eyeglasses),smartphones, digital cameras, camcorders, and tablets, the augmentedreality display or interface provides a window on the real world, ontowhich is layered one or more computer generated objects, digital images,or functions. Structurally and semantically, an augmented reality userinterface is fundamentally responsive to a physical state in physicalproximity to the user's device. Aspects of physical reality aretypically represented on the screen; however even if they are notrepresented on the screen they typically still affect what's happeningon the screen to some extent. This may be contrasted with virtualreality, in which a user's senses are typically fed a completelycomputer generated theme or environment, as an artificial sensorium.

Cross-Reality Drag and Drop

As a courtesy to the reader, and with reference to the accompanyingfigures herein, in general “100 series” reference numerals willtypically refer to items first introduced/described by FIG. 1, “200series” reference numerals will typically refer to items firstintroduced/described by FIG. 2, “300 series” reference numerals willtypically refer to items first introduced/described by FIG. 3, etc.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

By way of background, the traditional computer screen “desktop” areaincludes a drag-and-drop functionality that allows for powerfulmanipulation of graphical objects and environments. This typicallyinvolves 1) a source, 2) an object, and 3) a destination. These threethings determine the semantics of operations in the drag-and-dropprocess.

In an augmented reality situation, as described herein, a user mayperform a drag-and-drop operation from the real world into an augmentedreality (“AR”) view or display, and vice versa. For example, if a useris wearing AR glasses in a bookstore, there may be an AR shopping cartdisplayed on the glasses, viewable to the user. The user may then find areal book on a book shelf at the book store, point to the real book,peel off or otherwise pull an augmented reality representation of thebook into the AR shopping cart. When the user arrives at a checkoutstand or register to buy the book, the user may grab the AR book fromthe shopping cart, drag it onto the real cash register at which pointpayment may be initiated by the bookstore, and the transactioncompleted. The user may also select options for delivery of a physicalbook to herself or as a gift to someone else, and/or delivery of anelectronic book to a device.

In another example, a user sitting at home in their living room may viewher AR device on which is displayed an augmented reality representationof stacks of DVD's, which are functional links to Netflix videos, forexample. The user may reach out and grab an augmented realityrepresentation of a video, Star Wars, for example, and drag it onto thetelevision in the living room, thereby signaling to Netflix to beginplay of a streaming video of Star Wars on the (internet-ready)television, with concomitant notation in the user's Netflix account asto what was watched by the user when, and on which device. In somescenarios this may involve an associated debit to a credit account orbank account.

In another example, a user in the lobby of a movie theater may see amovie poster for the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, due outin theaters next year. The user may grab an an augmented realityrepresentation of the movie poster to an augmented reality wishlist onher augmented reality display, thereby updating her Netflix queue, forexample, to schedule notification when the movie is being shown at thetheater, and/or when it is available on Netflix for viewing.

In each of these examples, a camera or other detector will recognize andmark the source of an action, in other words the start of the “drag.”This is the object to be dragged. The camera or other detector will thenmonitor the “drag” or the motion away from the source object, andfinally the camera or other detector will recognize or mark thedestination, or “drop.” This is the place of significance where theaugmented reality representation is going. Each end of the action may bemarked explicitly by the user, for example by voice, touch (of theobject or of the AR device), gesture, or other signal.

Unlike traditional drag-and-drop on a computer desktop environment, notonly is there a recognition step, but the user is pointing to somethingin a scene in which there are a limited number of targets available,which serves to constrain the recognition problem. In one embodiment, aconstraint may be that a movie player app, like hulu or Netflix isrunning on the AR device or on another device like a television inproximity to the user. In another example, if an e-reader such as akindle device is open during a book-shopping experience, that may beused as a constraint to tell the system to look for books in theenvironment during the recognition step.

Recognition of the intended object(s) will typically happen via imagedata from a camera viewing a scene through an AR device. Context thatthe user is in may be taken into account. For example, the AR device mayrecognize types of stores or collections of items such as books orDVD's; or even diverse collections of objects such as items at a grocerystore.

Voice may be used to signal the correct recognition for “grabbing” anobject prior to dragging it. Other ways of marking the start of the dragmay also be used such as touching the object, tapping the object,touching a sensitive part of the AR device itself such as a button ortouchscreen, and/or making a gesture that was pre-programmed in to theAR device to tell the system that a selection had been made fordragging.

In one embodiment, speech alone may be used to drag-and-drop anaugmented reality representation.

In another embodiment, eye tracking may be used to identify, recognize,and select what the user is looking at, track the arc of movement,dragging, or transfer, and identify, recognize, and select thedestination for the drop.

As used herein, “augmentation,” “virtual,” or “augmented realityrepresentation” may refer to things that are added to a display of areal scene, such as computer generated images, text, or photographs.

In one embodiment, the system includes a hand-held augmented realitydevice, with at least one sensor (such as a camera), at least onegraphical display for user output, and at least one touch screen (orother similar device) for user input. As directed by the user, theaugmented reality device may activate and display an augmented realityscene that includes real interface objects (such as those imaged by theaugmented reality device's camera) and at least one augmented realityrepresentation of an object.

In one embodiment, a real interface object in an augmented realitydisplay is detected and selected (e.g., by a first gesture, voicecommand, touch, or some other predetermined method) and then moved(e.g., the augmented reality device tracks movement using a secondgesture, voice command, or some other predetermined method) within theaugmented reality interface as an augmented reality (or virtual)representation of that object, either leaving the first real interfaceobject unmodified, or removing the first real interface object from thescene. In response to selection and movement of the real interfaceobject in the augmented reality interface, at least one destination fordropping the augmented reality representation of the object is presentedin the augmented reality interface, perhaps in proximity to the realinterface object. Destinations on the display for a drop may include athumbnail photo, an icon, or some other symbol that in some cases willconvey functionality upon the augmented reality representation of theobject when dropped. A destination icon or symbol represents a targetupon which the representation of the real interface object may bedropped (e.g., by a third gesture, voice command, or some otherpredetermined method).

For example, imagine a user is viewing an augmented reality scene in aretail store. She will see the real objects in the store (such as books,microwave ovens, and housewares) as well as virtual objects in theaugmented reality display (such as product annotations and a shoppingcart that follows her wherever she goes). If she wishes to purchase oneof the books she sees on a shelf, within the augmented reality interfaceshe may “pick up” a representation of all twelve volumes of the realOxford English Dictionary with a hand gesture, drag, and then drop theaugmented reality representation of them into her virtual shopping cartfor check-out, at which point she may decide, for example, to purchaseeither a real or an electronic copy of the book, or both.

In another embodiment, a virtual interface object in an augmentedreality display is selected (by a first gesture, voice command, touch,or some other predetermined method) and then moved (by a second gesture,voice command, or some other predetermined method) within the augmentedreality interface. In response to selection and movement of the virtualinterface object in the augmented reality interface, at least one realinterface object may be presented in the augmented reality interface inproximity of the virtual interface object. Each real interface object inthe augmented reality interface represents a target upon which thevirtual interface object may be dropped (by a third gesture, voicecommand, or some other predetermined method).

For example, imagine you are viewing an augmented reality scene of yourfamily rec room. You see all the real objects in the room (such as atelevision, a table, a couch, bookshelves, et cetera) overlaid withaugmentations (such as the list of digital movies you own, perhapsrepresented by a stack of virtual DVDs on the table by the TV). You wishto watch one of the digital James Bond movies you own, so within theaugmented reality interface you pick up the virtual Goldfinger DVD,drag, and drop it on the real television screen. The movie then beginsto play on the real television (or it might be overlaid as anaugmentation to the real television so only the user sees it, or both).

In another example, a user is given a photograph by a friend, and wouldlike to post it on her social network page, such as her Facebook page.She may select the photograph with a hand gesture or voice, drag theresulting augmented reality representation of the photograph to a Fbicon in the corner of her augmented reality display, and drop it thereto register her Facebook page as a destination for a digital copy ofphotograph to go. This works similarly for images to be added toPinterest, notes to be added to a personal electronic diary, and otherpersonal data repositories.

As a courtesy to the reader, and with reference to the accompanyingfigures herein, in general “100 series” reference numerals willtypically refer to items first introduced/described by FIG. 1, “200series” reference numerals will typically refer to items firstintroduced/described by FIG. 2, “300 series” reference numerals willtypically refer to items first introduced/described by FIG. 3, etc.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

FIG. 1 shows several devices that may be used for augmented realityinteractions with a user. These include tablet device 100 having tabletcamera screen 102, smartphone 104 having smartphone camera screen 106,digital camera 108, augmented reality eyeglasses 110 (showing anaugmentation in the form of compass heading, e.g., “SW,” and ambienttemperature, e.g., “65° F.”), and video camera 112. Other form factorsmay be fabricated having the functionality described herein.

FIG. 2 shows an augmented reality device (smartphone) 204 having anaugmented reality display 208, which depicts an image of the real worldfield of view of the augmented reality device (smartphone camera fieldof view) 200, including the augmentated reality representation 206,e.g., “SW 65° F.”

FIG. 3 illustrates an example augmented reality system 322 in whichembodiments may be implemented. The system 322 may work through anaugmented reality device 302 for use by user 300. Augmented realitysystem 322 may be implemented on augmented reality device 302, or it maybe implemented remotely, in whole or in part, for example as a cloudservice through network 304 to communicate with augmented reality device302. The augmented reality system 322 may contain, for example,environmental context evaluation module 306, augmented reality devicecontext evaluation module 308, object selection module 310, imageprocessing module 312, image database 314, digital image generationmodule 316, user movement tracking module 318, destination selectionmodule 319, and drop registration module 320. Augmented reality system322 running on or through augmented reality device 302 may communicateover a network 304, wirelessly or by hardwired connection. By way ofnetwork 304, which may include a cloud computing component, augmentedreality system 322 may communicate with network payment system 324,including credit account 326, google wallet 328, and/or PayPal 330.Augmented reality system 322 may also communicate via network 304 with aretailer 332, such as Target 334. Augmented reality system 322 may alsocommunicate via network 304 with online data service 336 such asFacebook 338, iTunes 340, and/or Google Play app store 342.

In this way, a user may interact with digital representations of herenvironment in order to, inter alia, complete transactions, collectitems of interest, e.g., digital media including digital images of realobjects, or manipulate things such as movies and games for viewing orplay, respectively.

As referenced herein, the augmented reality system 322 may be used toperform various data querying and/or recall techniques with respect toreal world objects and/or augmented reality representations of realworld objects. For example, where real world object image data isorganized, keyed to, and/or otherwise accessible using one or more imagedatabases, augmented reality system 322 may employ various Boolean,statistical, and/or semi-boolean searching techniques to select acorrect real world object image among a set of images in a real worldscene, e.g., by object selection module 310, and also to provide anaugmented reality representation of the object, either by finding onein, e.g., image database 314, or by generating one, e.g., via digitalimage generation module 316.

Many examples of databases and database structures may be used inconnection with augmented reality system 322. Such examples includehierarchical models (in which data is organized in a tree and/orparent-child node structure), network models (based on set theory, andin which multi-parent structures per child node are supported), orobject/relational models (combining the relational model with theobject-oriented model).

Still other examples include various types of eXtensible Mark-upLanguage (XML) databases. For example, a database may be included thatholds data in some format other than XML, but that is associated with anXML interface for accessing the database using XML. As another example,a database may store XML data directly. Additionally, or alternatively,virtually any semi-structured database may be used, so that context maybe provided to/associated with stored data elements (either encoded withthe data elements, or encoded externally to the data elements), so thatdata storage and/or access may be facilitated.

Such databases, and/or other memory storage techniques, may be writtenand/or implemented using various programming or coding languages. Forexample, object-oriented database management systems may be written inprogramming languages such as, for example, C++ or Java. Relationaland/or object/relational models may make use of database languages, suchas, for example, the structured query language (SQL), which may be used,for example, for interactive queries for disambiguating informationand/or for gathering and/or compiling data from the relationaldatabase(s).

For example, SQL or SQL-like operations over one or more real worldobject image data may be performed, or Boolean operations using realworld object image data 301 may be performed. For example, weightedBoolean operations may be performed in which different weights orpriorities are assigned to one or more real world object imagesdepending on context of the scene or context of the device 302,including other programs running on the device 302, perhaps relative toone another. For example, a number-weighted, exclusive-OR operation maybe performed to request specific weightings of categories of objectsdepending on recognized cues such as geodata indicating location at abookstore, e.g.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a user interaction with the instantaugmented reality system. FIG. 4a depicts an augmented reality device (asmartphone showing on its display a bookshelf containing books in thecamera's field of view.

FIG. 4b depicts a user's hand pointing to a book on one of the shelves;this gesture is detected by e.g., augmented reality system 322 and/orimage processing module 312, which may capture text printed on the spineof the book in the vicinity of, or touched by, the user's index finger.Further, augmented reality device context evaluation module 308 maydetect that the device is running a program having virtual shopping cartfunctionality associated with a specific bookstore (as indicated by theshopping cart image in the lower left corner of FIGS. 4b-4f ), and, ifthere were other non-book items in the scene, the system may use thebookstore-related virtual shopping cart as a filter such that only booksin the scene are considered for selection. In some embodiments, a menu,e.g., a drop-down menu of book titles for example may be presented forthe user to select from.

Upon selection of a book, augmented reality system 322 and/or digitalimage generation module 316 may find in image database 314 and display,or create and display an augmented reality representation 417 of theselected book.

FIG. 4c depicts that a single book on the bookshelf is highlighted,corresponding to the one pointed to by the user's index finger.

FIG. 4d depicts a more detailed augmented reality representation 417 ofthe selected book in association with the user's hand as the hand movestoward the shopping cart icon on the display. This is the moving ordragging operation that will, upon the book's arrival at the shoppingcart, tell the system that the information about the book should berecorded in the user's shopping cart account, perhaps on the bookstore'swebpage. This is registration of the drop. For example, destinationselection module 319 and/or drop registration module 320 may registerthe displayed augmented reality representation of the book at theshopping cart icon in the display of the augmented reality device inresponse to detecting that the user moved his pointing hand to the icon,as tracked by, e.g., user movement tracking module 318.

Optionally, the augmented reality display may provide an indication ofregistration of the drop, as shown in FIG. 4f , in which the shoppingcart icon has been modified to include a 1 on it, indicating that thereis one item in the cart.

The converse operations may also be carried out by augmented realitysystem 322, from AR to reality. This includes detecting an augmentedreality representation 417 on a display, moving the displayed augmentedreality representation 417 on the display of the augmented realitydevice according to at least one detected second action of the user(e.g., dragging it onto a real world item), and registering thedisplayed augmented reality representation at a location in a real worldfield of view of the augmented reality device in response to e.g., adragging gesture ending at a credit card processing device for payingfor a book, ending at a television for playing a movie, or ending at acar for transferring an audiobook to the car from a smartphone, forexample.

And of course a reality-to-AR and back again process can be performed bythe system, as shown in FIG. 14. One example of this is the completeprocess of detecting/selecting a real item indicated by a user, draggingan augmented reality representation 417 of it to a place on an ARdevice, then detecting/selecting it again for movement to a differentreal world object. One example of this is the complete process ofchoosing a book from a bookshelf at a bookstore, placing it in a virtualshopping cart, and then retrieving it for payment at a credit cardprocessing device.

FIGS. 5-14 illustrate operational flows representing example operationsrelated to selecting, dragging, and dropping in augmented realitysystems. In the following figures that include various examples ofoperational flows, discussion and explanation may be provided withrespect to the above-described system environments of FIGS. 1-4, and/orwith respect to other examples and contexts. However, it should beunderstood that the operational flows may be executed in a number ofother environments and contexts and/or in modified versions of FIGS.1-4. Also, although the various operational flows are presented in thesequence(s) illustrated, it should be understood that the variousoperations may be performed in other orders than those which areillustrated, or may be performed concurrently.

Operational/Functional Language Herein Describes Machines/MachineControl/Machine-Controlled Processes Unless Context Dictates Otherwise

The claims, description, and drawings of this application may describeone or more of the instant technologies in operational/functionallanguage, for example as a set of operations to be performed by acomputer. Such operational/functional description in most instanceswould be understood by one skilled in the art as specifically-configuredhardware (e.g., because a general purpose computer in effect becomes aspecial purpose computer once it is programmed to perform particularfunctions pursuant to instructions from program software).

Importantly, although the operational/functional descriptions describedherein are understandable by the human mind, they are not abstract ideasof the operations/functions divorced from computational implementationof those operations/functions. Rather, the operations/functionsrepresent a specification for massively complex computational machinesor other means. As discussed in detail below, the operational/functionallanguage must be read in its proper technological context, i.e., asconcrete specifications for physical implementations. The logicaloperations/functions described herein are a distillation of machinespecifications or other physical mechanisms specified by theoperations/functions such that the otherwise inscrutable machinespecifications may be comprehensible to the human reader. Thedistillation also allows one of skill in the art to adapt theoperational/functional description of the technology across manydifferent specific vendors' hardware configurations or platforms,without being limited to specific vendors' hardware configurations orplatforms.

Some of the present technical description (e.g., detailed description,drawings, claims, etc.) may be set forth in terms of logicaloperations/functions. As described in more detail herein, these logicaloperations/functions are not representations of abstract ideas, butrather are representative of static or sequenced specifications ofvarious hardware elements. Differently stated, unless context dictatesotherwise, the logical operations/functions will be understood by thoseof skill in the art to be representative of static or sequencedspecifications of various hardware elements. This is true because toolsavailable to one of skill in the art to implement technical disclosuresset forth in operational/functional formats—tools in the form of ahigh-level programming language (e.g., C, java, visual basic, etc.), ortools in the form of Very High speed Hardware Description Language(“VHDL,” which is a language that uses text to describe logiccircuits)—are generators of static or sequenced specifications ofvarious hardware configurations. This fact is sometimes obscured by thebroad term “software,” but, as shown by the following explanation, thoseskilled in the art understand that what is termed “software” is ashorthand for a massively complex interchaining/specification ofordered-matter elements. The term “ordered-matter elements” may refer tophysical components of computation, such as assemblies of electroniclogic gates, molecular computing logic constituents, quantum computingmechanisms, etc. For example, a high-level programming language is aprogramming language with strong abstraction, e.g., multiple levels ofabstraction, from the details of the sequential organizations, states,inputs, outputs, etc., of the machines that a highlevel programminglanguage actually specifies. See, e.g., Wikipedia, High-levelprogramming language,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlevel_programming_language (as of Jun.5, 2012, 21:00 GMT). In order to facilitate human comprehension, in manyinstances, high-level programming languages resemble or even sharesymbols with natural languages. See, e.g., Wikipedia, Natural language,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language (as of Jun. 5, 2012, 21:00GMT).

It has been argued that because high-level programming languages usestrong abstraction (e.g., that they may resemble or share symbols withnatural languages), they are therefore a “purely mental construct”(e.g., that “software”—a computer program or computer programming—issomehow an ineffable mental construct, because at a high level ofabstraction, it can be conceived and understood by a human reader). Thisargument has been used to characterize technical description in the formof functions/operations as somehow “abstract ideas.” In fact, intechnological arts (e.g., the information and communicationtechnologies) this is not true.

The fact that high-level programming languages use strong abstraction tofacilitate human understanding should not be taken as an indication thatwhat is expressed is an abstract idea. In fact, those skilled in the artunderstand that just the opposite is true. If a high-level programminglanguage is the tool used to implement a technical disclosure in theform of functions/operations, those skilled in the art will recognizethat, far from being abstract, imprecise, “fuzzy,” or “mental” in anysignificant semantic sense, such a tool is instead a nearincomprehensibly precise sequential specification of specificcomputational machines—the parts of which are built up byactivating/selecting such parts from typically more generalcomputational machines over time (e.g., clocked time). This fact issometimes obscured by the superficial similarities between high-levelprogramming languages and natural languages. These superficialsimilarities also may cause a glossing over of the fact that high-levelprogramming language implementations ultimately perform valuable work bycreating/controlling many different computational machines.

The many different computational machines that a high-level programminglanguage specifies are almost unimaginably complex. At base, thehardware used in the computational machines typically consists of sometype of ordered matter (e.g., traditional electronic devices (e.g.,transistors), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), quantum devices, mechanicalswitches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, optical devices (e.g., opticalinterference devices), molecules, etc.) that are arranged to form logicgates. Logic gates are typically physical devices that may beelectrically, mechanically, chemically, or otherwise driven to changephysical state in order to create a physical reality of logic, such asBoolean logic.

Logic gates may be arranged to form logic circuits, which are typicallyphysical devices that may be electrically, mechanically, chemically, orotherwise driven to create a physical reality of certain logicalfunctions. Types of logic circuits include such devices as multiplexers,registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), computer memory, etc., eachtype of which may be combined to form yet other types of physicaldevices, such as a central processing unit (CPU) the best known of whichis the microprocessor. A modern microprocessor will often contain morethan one hundred million logic gates in its many logic circuits (andoften more than a billion transistors). See, e.g., Wikipedia, Logicgates, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_gates (as of Jun. 5, 2012,21:03 GMT).

The logic circuits forming the microprocessor are arranged to provide amicroarchitecture that will carry out the instructions defined by thatmicroprocessor's defined Instruction Set Architecture. The InstructionSet Architecture is the part of the microprocessor architecture relatedto programming, including the native data types, instructions,registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt andexception handling, and external Input/Output. See, e.g., Wikipedia,Computer architecture,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_architecture (as of Jun. 5, 2012,21:03 GMT).

The Instruction Set Architecture includes a specification of the machinelanguage that can be used by programmers to use/control themicroprocessor. Since the machine language instructions are such thatthey may be executed directly by the microprocessor, typically theyconsist of strings of binary digits, or bits. For example, a typicalmachine language instruction might be many bits long (e.g., 32, 64, or128 bit strings are currently common). A typical machine languageinstruction might take the form “11110000101011110000111100111111” (a 32bit instruction). It is significant here that, although the machinelanguage instructions are written as sequences of binary digits, inactuality those binary digits specify physical reality. For example, ifcertain semiconductors are used to make the operations of Boolean logica physical reality, the apparently mathematical bits “1” and “0” in amachine language instruction actually constitute a shorthand thatspecifies the application of specific voltages to specific wires. Forexample, in some semiconductor technologies, the binary number “1”(e.g., logical “1”) in a machine language instruction specifies around+5 volts applied to a specific “wire” (e.g., metallic traces on aprinted circuit board) and the binary number “0” (e.g., logical “0”) ina machine language instruction specifies around 5 volts applied to aspecific “wire.” In addition to specifying voltages of the machines'configurations, such machine language instructions also select out andactivate specific groupings of logic gates from the millions of logicgates of the more general machine. Thus, far from abstract mathematicalexpressions, machine language instruction programs, even though writtenas a string of zeros and ones, specify many, many constructed physicalmachines or physical machine states.

Machine language is typically incomprehensible by most humans (e.g., theabove example was just ONE instruction, and some personal computersexecute more than two billion instructions every second). See, e.g.,Wikipedia, Instructions per second,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_per_second (as of Jun. 5,2012, 21:04 GMT). Thus, programs written in machine language—which maybe tens of millions of machine language instructions long—areincomprehensible to most humans. In view of this, early assemblylanguages were developed that used mnemonic codes to refer to machinelanguage instructions, rather than using the machine languageinstructions' numeric values directly (e.g., for performing amultiplication operation, programmers coded the abbreviation “mult,”which represents the binary number “011000” in MIPS machine code). Whileassembly languages were initially a great aid to humans controlling themicroprocessors to perform work, in time the complexity of the work thatneeded to be done by the humans outstripped the ability of humans tocontrol the microprocessors using merely assembly languages.

At this point, it was noted that the same tasks needed to be done overand over, and the machine language necessary to do those repetitivetasks was the same. In view of this, compilers were created. A compileris a device that takes a statement that is more comprehensible to ahuman than either machine or assembly language, such as “add 2+2 andoutput the result,” and translates that human understandable statementinto a complicated, tedious, and immense machine language code (e.g.,millions of 32, 64, or 128 bit length strings). Compilers thus translatehigh level programming language into machine language. This compiledmachine language, as described above, is then used as the technicalspecification which sequentially constructs and causes theinteroperation of many different computational machines such thatuseful, tangible, and concrete work is done. For example, as indicatedabove, such machine language—the compiled version of the higher levellanguage—functions as a technical specification which selects outhardware logic gates, specifies voltage levels, voltage transitiontimings, etc., such that the useful work is accomplished by thehardware.

Thus, a functional/operational technical description, when viewed by oneof skill in the art, is far from an abstract idea. Rather, such afunctional/operational technical description, when understood throughthe tools available in the art such as those just described, is insteadunderstood to be a humanly understandable representation of a hardwarespecification, the complexity and specificity of which far exceeds thecomprehension of most any one human. With this in mind, those skilled inthe art will understand that any such operational/functional technicaldescriptions—in view of the disclosures herein and the knowledge ofthose skilled in the art—may be understood as operations made intophysical reality by (a) one or more interchained physical machines, (b)interchained logic gates configured to create one or more physicalmachine(s) representative of sequential/combinatorial logic(s), (c)interchained ordered matter making up logic gates (e.g., interchainedelectronic devices (e.g., transistors), DNA, quantum devices, mechanicalswitches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, molecules, etc.) that createphysical reality of logic(s), or (d) virtually any combination of theforegoing. Indeed, any physical object which has a stable, measurable,and changeable state may be used to construct a machine based on theabove technical description. Charles Babbage, for example, constructedthe first mechanized computational apparatus out of wood with themechanism powered by cranking a handle.

Thus, far from being understood as an abstract idea, those skilled inthe art will recognize a functional/operational technical description asa humanly understandable representation of one or more almostunimaginably complex and time sequenced hardware instantiations. Thefact that functional/operational technical descriptions might lendthemselves readily to high level computing languages (or high levelblock diagrams for that matter) that share some words, structures,phrases, etc. with natural language should not be taken as an indicationthat such functional/operational technical descriptions are abstractideas, or mere expressions of abstract ideas. In fact, as outlinedherein, in the technological arts this is simply not true. When viewedthrough the tools available to those of skill in the art, suchfunctional/operational technical descriptions are seen as specifyinghardware configurations of almost unimaginable complexity.

As outlined above, the reason for the use of functional/operationaltechnical descriptions is at least twofold. First, the use offunctional/operational technical descriptions allows near infinitelycomplex machines and machine operations arising from interchainedhardware elements to be described in a manner that the human mind canprocess (e.g., by mimicking natural language and logical narrativeflow). Second, the use of functional/operational technical descriptionsassists the person of skill in the art in understanding the describedsubject matter by providing a description that is more or lessindependent of any specific vendor's piece(s) of hardware.

The use of functional/operational technical descriptions assists theperson of skill in the art in understanding the described subject mattersince, as is evident from the above discussion, one could easily,although not quickly, transcribe the technical descriptions set forth inthis document as trillions of ones and zeroes, billions of single linesof assembly level machine code, millions of logic gates, thousands ofgate arrays, or any number of intermediate levels of abstractions.However, if any such low level technical descriptions were to replacethe present technical description, a person of skill in the art couldencounter undue difficulty in implementing the disclosure, because sucha low level technical description would likely add complexity without acorresponding benefit (e.g., by describing the subject matter utilizingthe conventions of one or more vendor specific pieces of hardware).

Thus, the use of functional/operational technical descriptions assiststhose of skill in the art by separating the technical descriptions fromthe conventions of any vendor-specific piece of hardware.

In view of the foregoing, the logical operations/functions set forth inthe present technical description are representative of static orsequenced specifications of various ordered matter elements, in orderthat such specifications may be comprehensible to the human mind andadaptable to create many various hardware configurations. The logicaloperations/functions disclosed herein should be treated as such, andshould not be disparagingly characterized as abstract ideas merelybecause the specifications they represent are presented in a manner thatone of skill in the art can readily understand and apply in a mannerindependent of a specific vendor's hardware implementation.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated.Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and theaccompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their moregeneral classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended tobe representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specificcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be takenas limiting.

Although a user may be shown/described herein as a single illustratedfigure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any user may berepresentative of a human user, a robotic user (e.g., computationalentity), and/or substantially any combination thereof (e.g., a user maybe assisted by one or more robotic agents) unless context dictatesotherwise. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in general,the same may be said of “sender” and/or other entity-oriented terms assuch terms are used herein unless context dictates otherwise.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specificexemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies arerepresentative of more general processes and/or devices and/ortechnologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filedherewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that opticalaspects of implementations will typically employ optically-orientedhardware, software, and or firmware.

In some implementations described herein, logic and similarimplementations may include software or other control structures.Electronic circuitry, for example, may have one or more paths ofelectrical current constructed and arranged to implement variousfunctions as described herein. In some implementations, one or moremedia may be configured to bear a device-detectable implementation whensuch media hold or transmit a device detectable instructions operable toperform as described herein. In some variants, for example,implementations may include an update or modification of existingsoftware or firmware, or of gate arrays or programmable hardware, suchas by performing a reception of or a transmission of one or moreinstructions in relation to one or more operations described herein.Alternatively or additionally, in some variants, an implementation mayinclude special-purpose hardware, software, firmware components, and/orgeneral-purpose components executing or otherwise invokingspecial-purpose components. Specifications or other implementations maybe transmitted by one or more instances of tangible transmission mediaas described herein, optionally by packet transmission or otherwise bypassing through distributed media at various times.

Alternatively or additionally, implementations may include executing aspecial-purpose instruction sequence or invoking circuitry for enabling,triggering, coordinating, requesting, or otherwise causing one or moreoccurrences of virtually any functional operations described herein. Insome variants, operational or other logical descriptions herein may beexpressed as source code and compiled or otherwise invoked as anexecutable instruction sequence. In some contexts, for example,implementations may be provided, in whole or in part, by source code,such as C++, or other code sequences. In other implementations, sourceor other code implementation, using commercially available and/ortechniques in the art, may be compiled//implemented/translated/convertedinto a high-level descriptor language (e.g., initially implementingdescribed technologies in C or C++ programming language and thereafterconverting the programming language implementation into alogic-synthesizable language implementation, a hardware descriptionlanguage implementation, a hardware design simulation implementation,and/or other such similar mode(s) of expression). For example, some orall of a logical expression (e.g., computer programming languageimplementation) may be manifested as a Verilog-type hardware description(e.g., via Hardware Description Language (HDL) and/or Very High SpeedIntegrated Circuit Hardware Descriptor Language (VHDL)) or othercircuitry model which may then be used to create a physicalimplementation having hardware (e.g., an Application Specific IntegratedCircuit). Those skilled in the art will recognize how to obtain,configure, and optimize suitable transmission or computational elements,material supplies, actuators, or other structures in light of theseteachings.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), aDigital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter,receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious aspects described herein which can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware,and/or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed ofvarious types of “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein“electrical circuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electricalcircuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electricalcircuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitryhaving at least one application specific integrated circuit, electricalcircuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by acomputer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by acomputer program which at least partially carries out processes and/ordevices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computerprogram which at least partially carries out processes and/or devicesdescribed herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g.,forms of memory (e.g., random access, flash, read only, etc.)), and/orelectrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem,communications switch, optical-electrical equipment, etc.). Those havingskill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described hereinmay be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combinationthereof.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that at least a portion of thedevices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a dataprocessing system. Those having skill in the art will recognize that adata processing system generally includes one or more of a system unithousing, a video display device, memory such as volatile or non-volatilememory, processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors,computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphicaluser interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interactiondevices (e.g., a touch pad, a touch screen, an antenna, etc.), and/orcontrol systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g.,feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for movingand/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A data processing systemmay be implemented utilizing suitable commercially available components,such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/ornetwork computing/communication systems.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto implement devices and/or processes and/or systems, and thereafter useengineering and/or other practices to integrate such implemented devicesand/or processes and/or systems into more comprehensive devices and/orprocesses and/or systems. That is, at least a portion of the devicesand/or processes and/or systems described herein can be integrated intoother devices and/or processes and/or systems via a reasonable amount ofexperimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize thatexamples of such other devices and/or processes and/or systems mightinclude—as appropriate to context and application—all or part of devicesand/or processes and/or systems of (a) an air conveyance (e.g., anairplane, rocket, helicopter, etc.), (b) a ground conveyance (e.g., acar, truck, locomotive, tank, armored personnel carrier, etc.), (c) abuilding (e.g., a home, warehouse, office, etc.), (d) an appliance(e.g., a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, etc.), (e) acommunications system (e.g., a networked system, a telephone system, aVoice over IP system, etc.), (f) a business entity (e.g., an InternetService Provider (ISP) entity such as Comcast Cable, Century Link,Southwestern Bell, etc.), or (g) a wired/wireless services entity (e.g.,Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, etc.), etc.

The claims, description, and drawings of this application may describeone or more of the instant technologies in operational/functionallanguage, for example as a set of operations to be performed by acomputer. Such operational/functional description in most instanceswould be understood by one skilled the art as specifically-configuredhardware (e.g., because a general purpose computer in effect becomes aspecial purpose computer once it is programmed to perform particularfunctions pursuant to instructions from program software).

Importantly, although the operational/functional descriptions describedherein are understandable by the human mind, they are not abstract ideasof the operations/functions divorced from computational implementationof those operations/functions. Rather, the operations/functionsrepresent a specification for the massively complex computationalmachines or other means. As discussed in detail below, theoperational/functional language must be read in its proper technologicalcontext, i.e., as concrete specifications for physical implementations.

The logical operations/functions described herein are a distillation ofmachine specifications or other physical mechanisms specified by theoperations/functions such that the otherwise inscrutable machinespecifications may be comprehensible to the human mind. The distillationalso allows one of skill in the art to adapt the operational/functionaldescription of the technology across many different specific vendors'hardware configurations or platforms, without being limited to specificvendors' hardware configurations or platforms.

Some of the present technical description (e.g., detailed description,drawings, claims, etc.) may be set forth in terms of logicaloperations/functions. As described in more detail in the followingparagraphs, these logical operations/functions are not representationsof abstract ideas, but rather representative of static or sequencedspecifications of various hardware elements. Differently stated, unlesscontext dictates otherwise, the logical operations/functions will beunderstood by those of skill in the art to be representative of staticor sequenced specifications of various hardware elements. This is truebecause tools available to one of skill in the art to implementtechnical disclosures set forth in operational/functional formats—toolsin the form of a high-level programming language (e.g., C, java, visualbasic), etc.), or tools in the form of Very high speed HardwareDescription Language (“VHDL,” which is a language that uses text todescribe logic circuits)—are generators of static or sequencedspecifications of various hardware configurations. This fact issometimes obscured by the broad term “software,” but, as shown by thefollowing explanation, those skilled in the art understand that what istermed “software” is a shorthand for a massively complexinterchaining/specification of ordered-matter elements. The term“ordered-matter elements” may refer to physical components ofcomputation, such as assemblies of electronic logic gates, molecularcomputing logic constituents, quantum computing mechanisms, etc.

For example, a high-level programming language is a programming languagewith strong abstraction, e.g., multiple levels of abstraction, from thedetails of the sequential organizations, states, inputs, outputs, etc.,of the machines that a high-level programming language actuallyspecifies. See, e.g., Wikipedia, High-level programming language,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-level_programming_language (as of Jun.5, 2012, 21:00 GMT) (URL included merely to provide writtendescription). In order to facilitate human comprehension, in manyinstances, high-level programming languages resemble or even sharesymbols with natural languages. See, e.g., Wikipedia, Natural language,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language (as of Jun. 5, 2012, 21:00GMT) (URL included merely to provide written description).

It has been argued that because high-level programming languages usestrong abstraction (e.g., that they may resemble or share symbols withnatural languages), they are therefore a “purely mental construct.”(e.g., that “software”—a computer program or computer programming—issomehow an ineffable mental construct, because at a high level ofabstraction, it can be conceived and understood in the human mind). Thisargument has been used to characterize technical description in the formof functions/operations as somehow “abstract ideas.” In fact, intechnological arts (e.g., the information and communicationtechnologies) this is not true.

The fact that high-level programming languages use strong abstraction tofacilitate human understanding should not be taken as an indication thatwhat is expressed is an abstract idea. In fact, those skilled in the artunderstand that just the opposite is true. If a high-level programminglanguage is the tool used to implement a technical disclosure in theform of functions/operations, those skilled in the art will recognizethat, far from being abstract, imprecise, “fuzzy,” or “mental” in anysignificant semantic sense, such a tool is instead a nearincomprehensibly precise sequential specification of specificcomputational machines—the parts of which are built up byactivating/selecting such parts from typically more generalcomputational machines over time (e.g., clocked time). This fact issometimes obscured by the superficial similarities between high-levelprogramming languages and natural languages. These superficialsimilarities also may cause a glossing over of the fact that high-levelprogramming language implementations ultimately perform valuable work bycreating/controlling many different computational machines.

The many different computational machines that a high-level programminglanguage specifies are almost unimaginably complex. At base, thehardware used in the computational machines typically consists of sometype of ordered matter (e.g., traditional electronic devices (e.g.,transistors), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), quantum devices, mechanicalswitches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, optical devices (e.g., opticalinterference devices), molecules, etc.) that are arranged to form logicgates. Logic gates are typically physical devices that may beelectrically, mechanically, chemically, or otherwise driven to changephysical state in order to create a physical reality of Boolean logic.

Logic gates may be arranged to form logic circuits, which are typicallyphysical devices that may be electrically, mechanically, chemically, orotherwise driven to create a physical reality of certain logicalfunctions. Types of logic circuits include such devices as multiplexers,registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), computer memory, etc., eachtype of which may be combined to form yet other types of physicaldevices, such as a central processing unit (CPU)—the best known of whichis the microprocessor. A modern microprocessor will often contain morethan one hundred million logic gates in its many logic circuits (andoften more than a billion transistors). See, e.g., Wikipedia, Logicgates, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_gates (as of Jun. 5, 2012,21:03 GMT) (URL included merely to provide written description).

The logic circuits forming the microprocessor are arranged to provide amicroarchitecture that will carry out the instructions defined by thatmicroprocessor's defined Instruction Set Architecture. The InstructionSet Architecture is the part of the microprocessor architecture relatedto programming, including the native data types, instructions,registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt andexception handling, and external Input/Output. See, e.g., Wikipedia,Computer architecture,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_architecture (as of Jun. 5, 2012,21:03 GMT) (URL included merely to provide written description).

The Instruction Set Architecture includes a specification of the machinelanguage that can be used by programmers to use/control themicroprocessor. Since the machine language instructions are such thatthey may be executed directly by the microprocessor, typically theyconsist of strings of binary digits, or bits. For example, a typicalmachine language instruction might be many bits long (e.g., 32, 64, or128 bit strings are currently common). A typical machine languageinstruction might take the form “11110000101011110000111100111111” (a 32bit instruction).

It is significant here that, although the machine language instructionsare written as sequences of binary digits, in actuality those binarydigits specify physical reality. For example, if certain semiconductorsare used to make the operations of Boolean logic a physical reality, theapparently mathematical bits “1” and “0” in a machine languageinstruction actually constitute a shorthand that specifies theapplication of specific voltages to specific wires. For example, in somesemiconductor technologies, the binary number “1” (e.g., logical “1”) ina machine language instruction specifies around +5 volts applied to aspecific “wire” (e.g., metallic traces on a printed circuit board) andthe binary number “0” (e.g., logical “0”) in a machine languageinstruction specifies around −5 volts applied to a specific “wire.” Inaddition to specifying voltages of the machines' configuration, suchmachine language instructions also select out and activate specificgroupings of logic gates from the millions of logic gates of the moregeneral machine. Thus, far from abstract mathematical expressions,machine language instruction programs, even though written as a stringof zeros and ones, specify many, many constructed physical machines orphysical machine states.

Machine language is typically incomprehensible by most humans (e.g., theabove example was just ONE instruction, and some personal computersexecute more than two billion instructions every second). See, e.g.,Wikipedia, Instructions per second,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructions_per_second (as of Jun. 5,2012, 21:04 GMT) (URL included merely to provide written description).

Thus, programs written in machine language—which may be tens of millionsof machine language instructions long—are incomprehensible. In view ofthis, early assembly languages were developed that used mnemonic codesto refer to machine language instructions, rather than using the machinelanguage instructions' numeric values directly (e.g., for performing amultiplication operation, programmers coded the abbreviation “mult,”which represents the binary number “011000” in MIPS machine code). Whileassembly languages were initially a great aid to humans controlling themicroprocessors to perform work, in time the complexity of the work thatneeded to be done by the humans outstripped the ability of humans tocontrol the microprocessors using merely assembly languages.

At this point, it was noted that the same tasks needed to be done overand over, and the machine language necessary to do those repetitivetasks was the same. In view of this, compilers were created. A compileris a device that takes a statement that is more comprehensible to ahuman than either machine or assembly language, such as “add 2+2 andoutput the result,” and translates that human understandable statementinto a complicated, tedious, and immense machine language code (e.g.,millions of 32, 64, or 128 bit length strings). Compilers thus translatehigh-level programming language into machine language.

This compiled machine language, as described above, is then used as thetechnical specification which sequentially constructs and causes theinteroperation of many different computational machines such thathumanly useful, tangible, and concrete work is done. For example, asindicated above, such machine language—the compiled version of thehigher-level language—functions as a technical specification whichselects out hardware logic gates, specifies voltage levels, voltagetransition timings, etc., such that the humanly useful work isaccomplished by the hardware.

Thus, a functional/operational technical description, when viewed by oneof skill in the art, is far from an abstract idea. Rather, such afunctional/operational technical description, when understood throughthe tools available in the art such as those just described, is insteadunderstood to be a humanly understandable representation of a hardwarespecification, the complexity and specificity of which far exceeds thecomprehension of most any one human. With this in mind, those skilled inthe art will understand that any such operational/functional technicaldescriptions—in view of the disclosures herein and the knowledge ofthose skilled in the art—may be understood as operations made intophysical reality by (a) one or more interchained physical machines, (b)interchained logic gates configured to create one or more physicalmachine(s) representative of sequential/combinatorial logic(s), (c)interchained ordered matter making up logic gates (e.g., interchainedelectronic devices (e.g., transistors), DNA, quantum devices, mechanicalswitches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, molecules, etc.) that createphysical reality representative of logic(s), or (d) virtually anycombination of the foregoing. Indeed, any physical object which has astable, measurable, and changeable state may be used to construct amachine based on the above technical description. Charles Babbage, forexample, constructed the first computer out of wood and powered bycranking a handle.

Thus, far from being understood as an abstract idea, those skilled inthe art will recognize a functional/operational technical description asa humanly-understandable representation of one or more almostunimaginably complex and time sequenced hardware instantiations. Thefact that functional/operational technical descriptions might lendthemselves readily to high-level computing languages (or high-levelblock diagrams for that matter) that share some words, structures,phrases, etc. with natural language simply cannot be taken as anindication that such functional/operational technical descriptions areabstract ideas, or mere expressions of abstract ideas. In fact, asoutlined herein, in the technological arts this is simply not true. Whenviewed through the tools available to those of skill in the art, suchfunctional/operational technical descriptions are seen as specifyinghardware configurations of almost unimaginable complexity.

As outlined above, the reason for the use of functional/operationaltechnical descriptions is at least twofold. First, the use offunctional/operational technical descriptions allows near-infinitelycomplex machines and machine operations arising from interchainedhardware elements to be described in a manner that the human mind canprocess (e.g., by mimicking natural language and logical narrativeflow). Second, the use of functional/operational technical descriptionsassists the person of skill in the art in understanding the describedsubject matter by providing a description that is more or lessindependent of any specific vendor's piece(s) of hardware.

The use of functional/operational technical descriptions assists theperson of skill in the art in understanding the described subject mattersince, as is evident from the above discussion, one could easily,although not quickly, transcribe the technical descriptions set forth inthis document as trillions of ones and zeroes, billions of single linesof assembly-level machine code, millions of logic gates, thousands ofgate arrays, or any number of intermediate levels of abstractions.However, if any such low-level technical descriptions were to replacethe present technical description, a person of skill in the art couldencounter undue difficulty in implementing the disclosure, because sucha low-level technical description would likely add complexity without acorresponding benefit (e.g., by describing the subject matter utilizingthe conventions of one or more vendor-specific pieces of hardware).Thus, the use of functional/operational technical descriptions assiststhose of skill in the art by separating the technical descriptions fromthe conventions of any vendor-specific piece of hardware.

In view of the foregoing, the logical operations/functions set forth inthe present technical description are representative of static orsequenced specifications of various ordered-matter elements, in orderthat such specifications may be comprehensible to the human mind andadaptable to create many various hardware configurations. The logicaloperations/functions disclosed herein should be treated as such, andshould not be disparagingly characterized as abstract ideas merelybecause the specifications they represent are presented in a manner thatone of skill in the art can readily understand and apply in a mannerindependent of a specific vendor's hardware implementation.

In certain cases, use of a system or method may occur in a territoryeven if components are located outside the territory. For example, in adistributed computing context, use of a distributed computing system mayoccur in a territory even though parts of the system may be locatedoutside of the territory (e.g., relay, server, processor, signal-bearingmedium, transmitting computer, receiving computer, etc. located outsidethe territory).

A sale of a system or method may likewise occur in a territory even ifcomponents of the system or method are located and/or used outside theterritory.

Further, implementation of at least part of a system for performing amethod in one territory does not preclude use of the system in anotherterritory.

All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications,U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applicationsand non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/orlisted in any Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein byreference, to the extent not inconsistent herewith.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or“operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents, and/or wirelessly interactable, and/or wirelesslyinteracting components, and/or logically interacting, and/or logicallyinteractable components.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to,” “configured by,” “configurable to,” “operable/operativeto,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc.Those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms (e.g.“configured to”) can generally encompass active-state components and/orinactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unlesscontext requires otherwise.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may beperformed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may includeoverlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental,preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variantorderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like“responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives aregenerally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictatesotherwise.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: circuitry configured fordetermining at least one selection constraint based at least partly onone or more applications running on one or more devices in proximity toan augmented reality device; circuitry configured for recognizing one ormore objects in a field of view that satisfy the at least one selectionconstraint; circuitry configured for constraining selection to the oneor more objects in the field of view; circuitry configured for selectingat least one of the one or more objects in the field of view based atleast partly on detection of a first action of a user at a location thatcorresponds to the at least one of the one or more objects; andcircuitry configured for displaying an augmented reality representationon a display of the augmented reality device at least partly in responseto selection of the at least one of the one or more objects.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured fordetecting a pointing gesture or a touch of a user at the location thatcorresponds to the at least one of the one or more objects.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured forhighlighting on the display of the augmented reality device the one ormore objects for possible selection.
 4. The system of claim 1, whereinthe circuitry configured for determining at least one selectionconstraint based at least partly on one or more applications running onone or more devices in proximity to an augmented reality devicecomprises: circuitry configured for determining at least one selectionconstraint based at least partly on one or more applications running onone or more devices in proximity to an augmented reality device andbased at least partly on one or more of a time of day or a geographiclocation.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising: circuitryconfigured for detecting using image data the first action of the userat the location that corresponds to the at least one of the one or moreobjects.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising: circuitryconfigured for detecting a hand, finger, or pointing gesture of the userat the location that corresponds to the at least one of the one or moreobjects.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising: circuitryconfigured for detecting a voice command indicating selection of the atleast one of the one or more objects.
 8. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: circuitry configured for detecting the first action thatmatches at least one of a stored gesture or a stored image.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured for draggingthe augmented reality representation across the display of the augmentedreality device according to a second action of the user.
 10. The systemof claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured for registering theaugmented reality representation at a destination on the display of theaugmented reality device at least partly in response to at least one ofa user gesture, a user voice command, or a user touch command indicatingthat the destination has been reached.
 11. The system of claim 1,further comprising: circuitry configured for registering the augmentedreality representation at an icon on the display of the augmentedreality device at least partly in response to moving the augmentedreality representation.
 12. The system of claim 1, further comprising:circuitry configured for performing image recognition with respect tothe at least one of the one or more objects in the field of view. 13.The system of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured fordetecting a finger of the user within the field of view at a locationthat corresponds to the at least one of the one or more objects.
 14. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured forobtaining from memory an enhanced depiction of the at least one of theone or more objects for display as the augmented reality representation.15. The system of claim 1, further comprising: circuitry configured formoving the augmented reality representation on the display of theaugmented reality device to track movement of a finger of the user. 16.The system of claim 1, wherein the augmented reality device comprises asmartphone including a camera that defines the field of view.
 17. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for determining atleast one selection constraint based at least partly on one or moreapplications running on one or more devices in proximity to an augmentedreality device comprises: circuitry configured for determining at leastone selection constraint based at least partly on one or more mediaapplications running on one or more display devices in proximity to anaugmented reality device.
 18. The system of claim 1, further comprising:circuitry configured for initiating playback of content associated withthe at least one of the one or more objects using at least one of theone or more devices in proximity to the augmented reality device. 19.The system of claim 1, wherein the augmented reality device comprisesone or more of augmented reality eyeglasses, a smartphone, a tabletcomputer, a smartwatch, a digital camera, or a digital video device. 20.The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured for displayingan augmented reality representation on a display of the augmentedreality device at least partly in response to selection of the at leastone of the one or more objects comprises: circuitry configured fordisplaying an augmented reality representation including a list of oneor more menu items on a display of the augmented reality device at leastpartly in response to selection of the at least one of the one or moreobjects.
 21. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuitry configured fordetermining at least one selection constraint based at least partly onone or more applications running on one or more devices in proximity toan augmented reality device comprises: circuitry configured fordetermining at least one selection constraint based at least partly onone or more applications running on one or more devices in proximity toan augmented reality device and based at least partly on a contextproximate to the augmented reality device.
 22. The system of claim 1,further comprising: circuitry configured for detecting touch of a touchsensitive portion of the augmented reality device.
 23. A computerprocessor configured to perform operations comprising: determining atleast one selection constraint based at least partly on one or moreapplications running on one or more devices in proximity to an augmentedreality device; recognizing one or more objects in a field of view thatsatisfy the at least one selection constraint; constraining selection tothe one or more objects in the field of view; selecting at least one ofthe one or more objects in the field of view based at least partly ondetection of a first action of a user at a location that corresponds tothe at least one of the one or more objects; and displaying an augmentedreality representation on a display of the augmented reality device atleast partly in response to selection of the at least one of the one ormore objects.
 24. An augmented reality device comprising: a display; anda computer processor programmed to perform operations including atleast: determining at least one selection constraint based at leastpartly on one or more applications running on one or more devices inproximity to the augmented reality device; recognizing one or moreobjects in a field of view that satisfy the at least one selectionconstraint; constraining selection to the one or more objects in thefield of view; selecting at least one of the one or more objects in thefield of view based at least partly on detection of a first action of auser at a location that corresponds to the at least one of the one ormore objects; and displaying an augmented reality representation on thedisplay of the augmented reality device at least partly in response toselection of the at least one of the one or more objects.
 25. A systemcomprising: at least one computing device; and one or more instructionsthat when executed on the at least one computing device program the atleast one computing device to perform operations including at least:determining at least one selection constraint based at least partly onone or more applications running on one or more devices in proximity toan augmented reality device; recognizing one or more objects in a fieldof view that satisfy the at least one selection constraint; constrainingselection to the one or more objects in the field of view; selecting atleast one of the one or more objects in the field of view based at leastpartly on detection of a first action of a user at a location thatcorresponds to the at least one of the one or more objects; anddisplaying an augmented reality representation on a display of theaugmented reality device at least partly in response to selection of theat least one of the one or more objects.
 26. A system comprising: meansfor determining at least one selection constraint based at least partlyon one or more applications running on one or more devices in proximityto an augmented reality device; means for recognizing one or moreobjects in a field of view that satisfy the at least one selectionconstraint; means for constraining selection to the one or more objectsin the field of view; means for selecting at least one of the one ormore objects in the field of view based at least partly on detection ofa first action of a user at a location that corresponds to the at leastone of the one or more objects; and means for displaying an augmentedreality representation on a display of the augmented reality device atleast partly in response to selection of the at least one of the one ormore objects.